Comedian Josh Blue assaulted, robbed in St. Paul bar

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - St. Paul native comedian Josh Blue was assaulted and robbed in the bathroom of a St. Paul bar late Monday night, according to a police report and a recent Facebook post by the comedian.

According to a St. Paul police report, Blue was at Hot Rods Bar & Grill on University in St. Paul when a man attacked him in the bathroom. The man stole his wallet, which contained $700 cash, credit cards, and his driver's license.

Blue rose to fame when he won the television comedy competition Last Comic Standing in 2006. He has cerebral palsy and centers much of his act around his disability.

He says a bar patron followed him into the bathroom and punched him in the head.

“He followed me in and was very aggressive, asked me what I was looking at. I said, ‘Hey man, just taking a leak.’ And then he just punched me in the side of the head,” said Blue.

After punching him a second time, the man took off with his wallet. He says the man left in a maroon SUV.

“If he’s willing to punch a disabled person in the head, then he’ll do that again to anybody,” said Blue. “That’s not somebody we want on the streets.”

He described the suspect as a man with long dreads, who was wearing a light colored shirt, black jeans and a black baseball hat. The case is still under investigation.

While management at Hot Rods declined to comment or provide surveillance footage of the incident, patrons in the bar Wednesday made it clear that the suspect was a known client.

Blue wrote on Facebook that he spent the night in the hospital with a mild concussion.

"Although the person was able to steal my wallet and knock my favorite sunglasses in the toilet he was unable to knock the comedy from my head," wrote Blue.

The comedian, while shaken up, doesn't plan on cancelling any upcoming shows. His next show is on Thursday in Ohio.

“I’m pretty tender around the side of my head and I have some bruising coming in around my eye, but I feel like if I don’t do the show than I’ve let the guy win another round,” he said.